Beleriand: The Awakening
by Luna Nightwyn
Summary: In Eden the world of man fell. Eru cast them out and took Eden and created another world for it. He created the Elves to keep it, and called it Beleriand. Now that the Eldar are leaving the shores. Now he must rely on a daughter of Eve.
1. Chapter 1

**[Warnings and Disclaimers]**

This is fiction.  
>This is a story about a girl entering the realm of middle earth from our modern earth.<br>This is my AU, and being fiction I reserve the right to bend fact to work in my fiction.  
>She will be a partial 10th walker.<br>There will be some use of language.  
>I own nothing save my characters and my random insanity.<br>Tolkien owns the inspiration behind a lot of this story. And most of the story line.

**I do not make any money from this. Reviews are my only payment**. : )

**[Author's Notes]  
><strong>**I took out the prologue and put it in its own story as Beleriand: Prophecy**

**[Summery]****  
><strong>Entering a realm of fiction we have Crystal a young woman about to venture out through time and space to a land where fairytales exist and the bogyman not only lives, but there are armies of them. She was child whose upbringing instilled religious concepts, science, a thirst for knowledge of how things work, and a knack for random trivia. She is a logical thinker who is driven by emotion which leaves her off balance. She likes to question everything and then rethink it forming random theories to later prove or disprove. Join Crystal as she comes face to face with a reality that might just shake the concepts and instill others while leaving her running to catch up as she meets the fellowship. Befriends them, and travels through the lands of a world that is on the brink of destruction, and learn just how much had this butterfly's wings had disturbed the great world of Tolkien.

****Crystal has entered middle earth; there was no white light or death, just an accident that with a little bump on her head. There is no warning, or exact time when she can reflect back and think when exactly this occurred. And will progress through the best she knows how.  
>Tolkien never wrote of his findings in this story. There was no mention of hobbits or the ring in earth lore.<p>

When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, the world of men fell. Eru cast them out and took Eden and created another world for it. He created the Elves to keep it, and called it Beleriand. He then created a race of man who was unable to be affected by his blessed fruits. And Morgoth had corrupted his garden yet again. Now that the Eldar are leaving the shores. He must rely on a daughter of Eve to return his garden to its splendor. For his old covenant with his first creations was strong. And this is her journey.

**[Chapter 1]**

**Some people ponder if the glass is half full, others ponder if the glass is half empty. I just want to know who the hell drank half my Dr. Pepper ~ Luna Nightwyn**

The sun broke through the clouds of the misty morning, the crisp winter air had lost its edge of the night before and the scent of fresh flowers and dirt floated on the gentle breeze. Crystal paused in her walk to sooth the ache in her legs that developed from the hike through the woods. She looked around as she became aware that it was quiet, too quiet. There were no birds, which at least those had been making some noise until awhile ago. Crystal had long left behind the river. Not that she particularly liked this river, if it was within her power she would banish this particular river to the 7th level of hell. She usually liked rivers, streams, the ocean…. But this particular river had become the bane of her existence.

What prompted this little commune with nature was in all essence not her doing. She liked nature, she like looking at it through her window in a climate controlled environment.

#####  
>Just yesterday, Crystal had sat among the picnic tables outside her college and downloaded digital copies of her books to her nookstudy device. She preferred this to having to deal with all the looks and mummers as she walked the halls, she was an advanced student, and she always felt subconscious because she was far beyond her peers in classes and always felt as though she had to prove she could handle her studies. There were some, who tried to make her feel more comfortable, and she appreciated the effort, but she still felt out of place, like an outsider looking in. She didn't blame others; it was normal human psychology to want to fit into a group of peers.<p>

There was no one that really went out of their way to make her feel uncomfortable, and every once in a while Crystal would go along with the current plan to make her friends feel better and to show she was giving the effort which had landed her with a last minute invite to the New Years costume party. With a tip from a friend about a place to go to get a nice costume this close to the date of the party. 

The shop was a several hour drive that led past the edges of the city, she passed a mountain and prairies and then down the long highway with thick forest densely populating the sides of the road. Set amidst a prairie was an old rustic cabin with a dirt paved lot with a faded sign stating simply 'Costumes'. Upon entering the building, she was met with the scent of incense and dust, and saw a small amount of hand crafted curiosities such as décor, jewelry, and costumes with elegant tread designs woven into them. There was a table of wood with boxes of assorted false gems that one could use for assembling the coloring to match the costume you bought that could be set in necklaces, earrings and bracelets, or sewn into the fabric of the costume. Crystal bought a pouch of gems and closely related stones, for she liked shiny things; they helped when she made jokes about her ADD.

As Crystal walked out of the store she had noticed the cold air had turned frigid and the breeze had picked up momentum, glancing up she saw over in the distance dark clouds gathered in a threatening manner. She made it into the car as lightning flashed across the sky, and then proceeded to put her purchases in the car. Crystal sat, waited. Outside the loud drumming softened and her view outside her windows cleared enough that she felt safe to attempt to travel home. Then she headed out towards the bridge that would carry her to the highway, it carried her through a lot of forest, and gas stations were few and far between.

The bridge was created in the old style of lengthwise placed boards, which had become loose from the earlier storm, as she took the car over the bridge the vibration had cast the last straw and some of them began to fall. Unfortunately, just as she passed over the bridge she noticed the bridge was not all there, which had a lot in common with her at the moment because she slammed on the brakes. Usually a good decision, but not in December with water turning to ice, The car skid turning several spins across the bridge miraculously and the passenger side door hit a nearby tree. The impact triggered the airbag slamming her head into the seat and the engine stalled. Crystal closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, her heart pounding in her chest; she raised an unsteady hand to comb her fingers through her hair. The rain thumped down on her car and she jumped at the sound of rain turning to hard ice. Her head was stinging as she lifted her had away she noticed it was sticky with her own blood, terror filled her as she wondered just how injured she had become, reluctantly she tested each finger and limb for anything else, fearing what she could do if she found anything life threatening.

Crystal's assessment rendered her with some small relief that it seemed nothing serious had happened to her. She leaned around the airbag and tried to crank the car holding her breath and clinching her teeth as the engine turned but would not catch.

A loud groan from the tree outside the passenger side door caught Crystal's attention in the fading evening. The tree that had braced her car was leaning over an incline and beneath it gushed a river that might have been a small stream once, but now fed by the heavy downpour became like a wild entity threatening to destroy all in its path.

She squinted her eyes against the window and removing the fog off the glass she glanced in the distance hoping to find an alternative means of shelter. Not more than ten feet away sat a pile of rocks that created a small overhang where she could probably squeeze into, she may get wet, but it seemed safer then the car at the moment.

Crystal unbuckled her seat belt and turned to burrow through her bags for a first aid kit and a jacket to protect her from the ice like rain pouring down, she opened the car door and put the jacket over her head and ran to the rocks as ice pellets started hurling down from the sky. She covered the distance quickly and with little incident aside from the stinging ice rain, made her way to the small area within the rocks. It was becoming even darker as she sat and looked out into the storm. She could hear the rain droning harder and the wind picking up with unwelcome splashes of cold wetness attacking her from the open part of the overhang.

She proceeded to bandage her head with minor rain intrusions. And then she spent the rest of the night trying to use her leather trench coat to keep the evil rainstorm from its relentless attacks. Emotional exhaustion took her in the twilight hours as the storm raged on in the darkness.

When consciousness broke through her dreamless sleep Crystal shivered from the frigid air, light drizzle was all that was left of the madness of the storm the night before. Her dry throat assaulted her as her stomach complained as she remembered her last actual meal was about lunch time the day before. Crystal rubbed her face as the nightmare that was reality hit her, she was alone in a forest and her car was, well. She opened her eyes and was hit by relief as she saw that somehow her car had made it through the night above the river.

Crystal stood, in the drizzling rain stretching her back and the sore muscles registered themselves acutely as she slowly approached her car with apprehension. She opened the door slowly and searched for any drinks that might have had in there, and first looked in a bag that was usually kept in the car for long trips were she kept a large amount of non perishable snacks and a few fruits. It was originally a diaper bag of some sort, but it was insulated and durable. And if something inside leaked it wouldn't cause a catastrophe to her numerous electronic gadgets.

She shouldered the bag as there were no drinks in it but could use some food. She was met only by the empty reminders of her trip to nowhere by several Dr. Pepper bottles in a plastic bag on the passenger side. She had to do the unthinkable, and grabbed the bag of bottles and on her way out of the car she grabbed her cell from the dash.

She walked over to the river, which she approached with caution since the rain storm from last night had increased the current drastically. She placed her bag a couple of feet from the river taking the plastic bag with her. Then went for what seemed the safest place and knelt down to her task. She removed a bottle from the bag and cringed as she filled up the bottle, thinking just how sanitary this river was.

She returned the now full bottle to the bag, took out her cell phone to try to call a tow-truck as she turned and headed back to her other belongings. At that precise time some random wave lopped up and drenched her cell. The waterlogged cell was now rendered nonfunctional. She then walked over to her belongings, promptly took apart her cell and removed the battery, placed the now dysfunctional pieces of her cell in the pocket of her snack bag.

_[With hope it would dry and work. Evil, Evil River…] she thought_

Crystal sighed as knew she was in a long walk to civilization. She went to her car fetching her backpack, her purse, and several other items stuffing in her backpack what she could. Then she went about the trunk for any emergency supplies that might be of use while walking. She placed these two new bags next to the bag of snacks. Taking the plastic bag with her and filled the remaining bottles carefully.

An unearthly groan filled the air, echoing throughout the forest, followed by the sound of many twigs breaking. Crystal looked up and was suddenly frozen in terror, unable to breathe as the most horrible vision imaginable took place. She stared as everything seemed to move in slow motion. Her breathing quickened and her heart felt as though it would leap out of her chest. There was a flash of metal that was followed by a resounding splash as she watched her beloved car become swallowed up by the river.

For a moment all she could do was stand and stare in shock, though the possibility and fear ran through her mind she really didn't believe it would happen.

_[_Were Murphy and his diabolical laws out to get me? Was this some punishment? Did I cross over into some twilight zone where everything had to go wrong to me?] _she thought_

The stinging in her eyes and the pain in her chest caught her off guard, she tried to catch her breath as the weight of the situation pounded into her head. Crystal rarely cried, her brothers told her that was what little girls did, and when she was younger she wanted to do all she could to be like them, so she didn't like crying especially in public. But there was no one here to hear her whimpers or anyone to see her weakness. The pain and let it ripped through her she fell to her knees and tried to catch her breath, to get a handle on anything. Time passed and she was able to slowly push this down, she had to move on, this was not doing anything to solve her problem she told herself, as she pushed herself off the ground and stood. She placed two bottles in the side pouches of the bag of snacks and the sack of bottles into it, and zipped it. It was then she deemed the river cursed and picked up her stuff and started walking east toward the direction of the highway.  
>#####<p>

At first she was able to adopt the can-do attitude which lasted about a full thirty minutes then she developed an ache from walking and she grew weary. Though she pushed herself on through the afternoon stopping to catch her breath or to take a rest as it wore on to dusk. She passed on to anger for the next four hours, by nightfall the drizzle had officially stopped and she was getting really depressed.

Crystal opened a bottle of water and sniffed it; it did not smell odd so she bravely took a sip. It tasted a lot like glacier water and she was relieved, she continued to sip on the water and ponder just how far east she would have to walk till she hit civilization or at least a phone, because unfortunately phones did not grow on trees, and there were plenty of trees.

Crystal wandered into a clearing, she couldn't see much in the distance as the evening was edging into a moonless night she grabbed what wood she could realizing soon she would have to stop. The darkness was eerily unsettling as if she was lone under a spotlight, fantasizing that she was the only being blinded by the darkness and carnivorous creatures were waiting just beyond the shadows to claim her for their meal. Picking a small stump to sit she placed the wood in a pile and pulled out the handy-dandy Zippo to light a fire, which promptly due to the laws of nature went out. Realizing she had nothing to neither start nor keep a fire going she gave up and decided to use what clothing she had to layer within comfortable means. As if frigid temperatures were not enough to create enthusiasm for a quick dressing the lack of privacy did nothing to calm her nerves either, though she knew there was no one there. She pulled her trench coat around her and used the backpack for a pillow. It was going to be a long night. But luckily exhaustion took over, and she slept.

In the morning she had awoken to something that was disturbing, mountains. Mountains are neat to look at, she like pictures of mountains. What she doesn't like and has never occurred before not once in her whole existence is mountains where there should not be mountains.

She looked around making sure in fact maybe that she had not gotten turned around, or something. According to the watch it was 9am, the sun was directly over said mountains. _[This was so not good]_ she thought. Short of world catastrophe while she slept the sun rises in the east and the mountains where there should not be mountains are in the east.

So she started walking toward the mountains. She reasoned that the road had curved north maybe enough that these mountains were in fact where they should be and she was only thinking in car travel time, not walking time so she then took a more south east direction hoping to intersect the highway.

There was an eerie silence that seemed to have a tangible feeling. She continued walking then came upon a rock cropping and it was dry and decided to take a break and sit and see if she could get any bearings and break the silence or at least distract herself from loosing what little sanity she had left.

Crystal placed her bags on a rock that was slightly elevated to the ones next to it creating a makeshift desk and sat down and hung her legs over the ledge, and leaned her back against a rock that had some support. To her left was the adjacent rock were her belongings sat.

She pulled out her cell phone, put it together and turned it on, the numbers flashed through at great speed. The screen had odd squares, and then it promptly shut itself off. She returned it to her bag and pulled out a map and tried to decipher where she was. She laid it out on her makeshift desk and studied it.

The mountains on the map said they should be further north than where she was standing, or where she thought she should be standing. It didn't seem right as the bridge she crossed would be miles south of her location. _[None of this made logical sense.]_ _She thought_. There was no reason why or how she could have gotten so far off track.

Crystal sat facing the mountains that gave more puzzles then answers, and sighed in frustration.


	2. Chapter 2

**[Warnings and Disclaimers]**

See Chapter 1

**I do not make any money from this. Reviews are my only payment. **: )

**[Chapter 2]**

"_**Life is like looking into a ripple of water in a pond, you see the world reflected, but it is distorted, and hidden in the ripples of the water are key elements that you have yet to see and it can change your whole world." ~ Luna Nightwyn**_

The fellowship traveled through the woods, over open plains, and hillsides. They came upon a small rock formation in the distance. There was a lone figure, dressed in black, yet hair flowing free, among the formation. Legolas determined it appeared to be human or an elfling. And more astonishing; the individual was female and alone.

From her movements she appeared to be frustrated. He also saw an object that was laid on the rocks. It appeared to reflect the sun, as water, yet was in a perfect rectangular shape, and quite thin. She also had three small odd bags with her varying in sizes, laid about the rocks.

She was sitting and then reaches in her bags and withdrawals a bottle of unknown material that had a strange covering yet the bottle appeared clear as glass, which she drunk from.

She also had gotten a second object, round in shape, which she threw toward the ground, it was attached to a string, when the object approached the end of the string, then climbed back into her hand at great speed. Gandalf had deemed this device nothing of great harm as he seemed to understand its function.

Crystal got a bottle of water out and took a few sips, and then pulled out a yo-yo, leaned forward and released it focusing on the movement to clear her head and hoped this will help her reproach the problem from a fresh view. So it was her and the occasional sound of the yo-yo and looking at a map that was absolutely useless. _[Or to be more honest I was useless.] She thought._

It was decided that Aragorn approach with caution. Legolas would have his bow aimed and ready should it be necessary and Gandalf would be ready for a spell if one would be cast. When Aragorn approached he noticed that the rectangular object reflected less and was able to make out many lines and colors from it. It seemed to resemble a map, though he was wary as he approached her, his ranger instincts on high alert.

Crystal grew up with three older brothers and there were things as a little sister you learned, like when you're being approached from behind. Big brothers like to harass little sisters in that manner usually with some evil insect to scare you. Crystal turned before he spoke, Aragorn knew he walked silently as the elves and there was no way she could have heard him. So her knowledge of his approach unnerved him. Crystal whipped around to confront a startled man with a deep accent, and really didn't catch what he said at first.

Aragorn thought the girl looked to be young, in her late teens, dressed in a black shirt, and men's pants, with black leather over coat, and shoes like Aragorn had never seen, she had brown almost curly hair, but not. She was of short and petite body structure and had an odd combination of two colorings of brown and green existing in her eyes, which is highly rare, for Aragorn had never heard of two distinct colorings in eyes, but rather more of a blended mixture.

Crystal looked this man over; he was tall, very muscular and had of all things a sword hanging from his belt, which made her apprehensive, and she wondered if it was just a prop sword. Though he looked like he just walked out of one of her history book with the design of clothing and well he didn't exactly smell like he and soap were on first name bases. The man seemed to be quite tense which she didn't understand because she was alone and a girl who was vertically challenged as she professed at not even 5'2, and from the distance couldn't tell how many companions. _[And he was unnerved by me, can you say odd?] She thought._

Aragorn raised an eye brow and asked again_. "And what would a woman be doing donned in men's attire without proper escort?"_ his eyes landed on a bandage that was on her head. And at this he relaxed a bit. _"My lady, may I have your name, I am called Strider _"Aragorn said. _"Crystal"_ She replied. He stood there waiting expectantly. And she just looked at him. _[I wasn't going to give last names if he wasn't.] She thought._

After he spoke to her, he at once noticed she had an unknown accent, in her movements he could sense fear, suspicion, as she glanced from him to his companions that with her mortal eyes she could barely see from this distance. She said her name was Crystal, an odd name, but gave no more on the subject. She was young, alone, afraid, and apparently injured. Aragorn sighed and inquired of her injury and had her escortbeen killed.

_[I am in need of help, and even though it is an unlikely source, he will have to do.] She thought. _Crystal was quite a personality and genetically cursed with the gene of eternal smartass. _[I can't help it, it's genetic.] She thought. _She sighed helplessly as she responded_, "My map and I are having a debate of my current location, and as for my ford escort it met an end with a tree then a river." _

At this he was promptly astonished, to what she could not fathom. _"Have all of your companions perished?"_ He asked. It took her a second to realize the joke flew over his head. To try to clear this up she told him_ "Uh, no my ford escort, my car."_ This did not seem to clear up the concept, so in a frustrated manner, she elaborated. _"A car, motor wagon, horseless carriage, invented in about 1885 or at least the modern car."_

He only raised his eyebrow at this. _[That is a strange type of carriage.] Aragorn thought. _She looked at him and gave a long drawn out sigh. That was a universal reaction that Aragorn understood. So he decided to look at the map, for it might unravel some mysteries.

Apprehension filled Aragorn as he approached the map slowly. He noticed it had seemed to be made of the shiny clear material of the bottle the girl had drank from, with parchment within it. The map was unlike any he had seen, it had vibrant colors and lines with names which he assumed were the roads, though the terrain did resemble a map he was used to. He touched it and found it smooth. _[This was not a map of this region, though there were faint similarities.] Aragorn thought._

Crystal looked past the strange man and into the far distance, stretching to her toes trying to better her vision unsuccessfully. Trying to make out the shapes of his companions, she couldn't tell just how many there were but there seemed to be quite a few and that unsettled her because if things went wrong she was in trouble. She was able to make out smaller shapes the size of children and this gave her some peace of mind. _[People with children were far less likely statically to cause serious trouble.] She thought._

Time wore on and her hopes dwindled the longer the man stood silently looking at the map. Crystal sighed and tried to busy her mind so her impatientence would not annoy him to greatly she needed help, and he seemed nice enough to try and she did not want to be rude. The past events kept swimming through her head and panic seemed to grip on her with its icy claws threatening to drive her to the brink of hysteria. Taking a calming breath and resounding herself to clear her head she withdrew her yo-yo as a form of meditation.

Crystal threw the yo-yo down and exhaled focusing on the tension that released in the string as she tried to release the muscle tension in time with the yo-yo. The trademark zic of the yo-yo was followed by something less calming. _[An arrow yet no strike.] Aragorn thought._

Filled with anxiety Aragorn spun and drew his sword to face this foe, and looked about wildly for nothing appeared amiss. Yet the girl stood with the object she had earlier dangled from her hand as she stood in alarm looking at Aragorn. He knew at once the object was the culprit of the sound and resheathed his sword. He gave her a long look, shook his head and returned to the map. Aragorn decided to take the map to Gandalf and seek his counsel on the matter.

He picked up the map and looked at her and asked, _"If my lady, you will allow it, I would like my companions to look over this map, I will return in a short while"_ To which she nodded and gave no objection. _ [It's not like it is doing me any favors] she thought._Upon returning Aragorn noticed Gandalf was in deep thought concerning the subject. The whole incident was relayed to him by Legolas, whose Elven hearing and sight had allowed him to listen and see at the great distance.

The map which Aragorn had brought only added to the mystery that surrounded the girl. Gandalf looked over the map and seemed perplexed at both the material and situation. Without any other explanation other than that this girl was not of middle earth, for Gandalf was old and wise and has traveled far and never came across anything like it. Nor the things the girl mentioned.

It had been over an hour while she waited as Crystal sat upon the rocks swinging her feet and with annoyance. She looked up then covered her face with her hand, then bit her lower lip and looked in the distance. Trying to busy herself, Crystal dug through the snack bag for some ex-dr. pepper now water and a granola bar, an Excedrin, since she was no longer bleeding and the aspirin wouldn't hurt, but most of all it had caffeine, glorious caffeine and she had developed a very monstrous caffeine withdrawal headache. _[I wish I had a dictionary on me. I would quote word for word the definition of shortly] she thought with annoyance._

Gandalf and Aragorn had decided that, even though they are apprehensive, it would be best if she journeyed with them till he could place her in the care of the elves, for it was feared that she could give their location if she was captured by the enemy, and for Gandalf he was beginning to fear just what else she could tell the enemy of her knowledge. And maybe it was best to gain this knowledge and if it was of great consequence attempt to try to ally with the girl. It did not seem as if the girl was an immediate threat. And they cannot afford to tarry for long.

So Aragorn and his companions started approaching. As they walked Gandalf told them _"We must hold course west of the Misty Mountains for forty days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there our road turns east to Mordor." _

Crystal noticed them approachingand kept them in her peripheral vision rather than staring out right because watching them walk towards her the whole time just seemed rather awkward. ._ [I guessed I been deemed safe enough for his kids to be around.] Crystal thought._ As they closed the distance she became aware that it looked as if there were four children and none of them bore shoes. She dismissed this, and tried to shrug it off, but the closer they got the harder it is to deny the fact, when the older man dressed in a grey robe with a staff caught her attention she was instantly reminded of Dumbledore from Harry Potter and wondered if he actually believed he was indeed him or some obsession of his. _[I hoped he does not have me refer to him as Dumbledore.] She thought with a smirk._

As they approached Gandalf and Legolas shared a look, for the child which Aragorn had affirmed was indeed human had the faint aura about her as the elves. They got within comfortable communication distance and Aragorn and Gandalf approached her. Neither Gandalf nor Aragorn knew just how to even suggest that she was no longer residing in her own realm.

Aragorn looked at Gandalf wondering where to begin. Gandalf then asked. "_Where do thou hail from?"_ Crystal responded. _"I …am from San Marcos." _ _[I have to admit as fast as my brain is; I am still having a difficult time getting through their accents. It was like talking to someone who was speaking drunkeneeze mixed with Old Testament. ] Crystal thought. _"_I am Gandalf the Grey"_. Gandalf said. _[Well at least he didn't day Dumbledore, I might have lost it then and there.] Crystal thought._

Gandalf and Aragorn seemed at a loss for words after the initial greeting, they kept looking at each other and the map and her, as if they wanted to discuss something but couldn't find the words. This went on for a bit. Crystal ended up breaking the silence, _"Any luck in knowing what general direction to point me toward the highway?" _

For Gandalf hoped that there was another explanation so decided to come a bit closer to her and he questioned the girl. _"Where did you get this map young one?" _Biting her lower lip she tried to remember which of the thousands of places she could have picked up the map, then remembered "_It was at a Shell on highway 80 in San Marcos about 20 miles east." _

Aragorn was astounded at the distance she covered alone and unmolested and looked at her astonished_, _he stated_ "You have traveled that far alone, unharmed, you must of traveled a day!" _Crystal had at that time come to the conclusion that he did not understand car speed, because she spent longer then that walking south eastward.

Gandalf found it quite odd she had gotten the map from a shell, perhaps the child is mad as well. "_You are telling me a shell gave this to you?" _ He asked. Upon hearing this Crystal had to laugh at his confusion and the absurdity of it. _"Not a real shell, it's the name of a gas station, a store."_Crystal looked at them oddly, and they felt as if they missed some imperative information.

_[Could they be Amish? No, Amish know about cars, and they are a peaceful people. I wouldn't think they would carry swords. Maybe they are like the people from the movie __The Village,__ where some head leader long ago hid them in the wilderness. Though I should question them on the manner I don't want offend them, or break some weird law I don't know of. It like they step out of a history book.] Crystal thought._

The fellowship had traveled long and had become weary and gathered wood for a fire then willing to wait no longer they passed Gandalf and the girl and continued onto the outcropping to set about camp. Aragorn wanting more time to think on the matter at hand and allow Gandalf time to question her followed them.

Crystal then leaned in and questioned Gandalf, _"Do your people are like the Amish or something, and do you believe science advancement is evil?" _Not knowing to what degree of knowledge the child had in the sciences and with what he had learned so far he thought it best to learn of them and know just what they were dealing with. And responded in whispered tone _"No, but as I am sure you will soon grasp things are not as they appear to be. And furthermore, I would like to learn of your what knowledge you have of science, but these are dark times, so I ask that you only divulge to those within the party and those I tell you are trusted."_

As Sam was preparing to light a fire to cook a meal it caught the attention of Crystal, Gandalf then went to discuss with Aragorn more on the topic of their newest acquaintance. Crystal turned at the sound of metal clanging and saw one of what she thought were children pulling a pan and from a pack.

_[…no wait they aren't children they are midgets, no midgets are disproportional and these people seem normal, well their feet are big and hairy. This blonde midget was sitting above a pile of sticks. Was he trying to rub two sticks together?] She thought._

Crystal turned and noticed Gandalf seemed to wander off for the moment. And she sighed in relief. Though she tried her best to push past it, she was an introvert person at heart. And she tended to use humor or science as coping mechanisms. In awkward moments she had been known to spout some trivia or a wisecrack. Or ponder some concept from all angles. Though she did not seem to have this problem with children, or it seemed midgets.

So she approached the poor little guy, "_If you'll allow me…?" _she asked. He nodded and said _"I am Sam, my lady" _as he handed her the sticks. _"Crystal." _She respondedand he continued to remove things from his pack. [ _A Zippo shouldn't offend them, lighters have been around for over a hundred years_.] _She thought._

And placed the sticks upon the ground and she whipped out her handy-dandy Zippo, and flicked it with a metallic clink. A similar sound to a dagger being pulled that had every trained warrior jump into action in time to see a very amused Crystal holding a metal box which she flicked and a small fire sprang from it. And proceeded to light the fire, Sam bravely asked about this firebox in which she sat and took it apart and explained each function and how it worked to Sam. And the rest of the fellowship listened.

She took a cloth and removed it from its case "_this is called a Zippo, or a lighter, you have to be careful because the fluid used tends to burn the skin if not promptly washed off, this part the metal screw you open it and put in flint, under this white stuff is a cloth that goes through the top. This material holds the fluid which is highly flammable," _She put the Zippo back together _"and you turn this wheel it strikes the flint creating the spark….." _ Crystal said.


	3. Chapter 3

**[Warnings and Disclaimers]**

See Chapter 1

I do not make any money from this. Reviews are my only payment. And at this rate I am broke. : )

**[Chapter 3]**

"**Denial, my sweet, submerge me in your anesthetized mist, keep me from my thoughts, banish the fear that threatens to seize me. For I cannot face the reality that is seeping into my conscious mind, grant me an ounce of peace." ~ Luna Nightwyn **

****At this point Sam interrupted her "_May I see the Zippo, Lady Crystal?" _ _[A happy cook is a good thing...] She thought. _Once she explained the Zippo as Crystal called it, was no longer feared but marveled since it was apparent that it was a tool and not some magical device. And the members of the fellowship could understand how it worked. She easily enough handed it to Sam when he asked and allowed him to examine it and also to Gandalf and Aragorn who used the Zippo to light their pipes and inspected it then returned it to her.

They were surprised at how effortlessly she explained its functions and how she seemed to offer her knowledge without much reserve, which Gandalf was partially concerned and grateful for, among the fellowship and the elves he would allow this, but to the world of men she must reserve how informative she became.

The clanging of the swords rang out with a loud echo emphasizing the lack of sound that left Crystal with the eerie feeling earlier. She glanced over toward the sound. Boromir instructed the hobbits with swords calling out between each clang "Two" "One" "Five" "Good. Very good."

Aragorn sat nearby, and smoked a pipe. He spoke encouragement_. "Move your feet." "You look good, Pippin."_ Merry said. _"Thanks."_ Pippin called. _"Faster!"_ Boromir said.

While she watched them Sam struck up a conversation with her _"those hobbits there are Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took of the Shire and the man is Lord Boromir, son of Denethor" _She looked at Sam and raised an eyebrow_ "Hobbits?" _ To which Sam replied, _"yes, hobbits lady Crystal, Halflings, shire folk." [Ok I had to admit I am intrigued] Crystal thought. _ _"Half of what precisely?" _she asked Sam which immediately replied_ "Well half the size of a man, my lady." _

"_I usually just tell people I am vertically challenged._" She confessed with a smirk. Sam thought about it for a minute and said "_No, Lady Crystal, you do not understand, we are not little men, and we are hobbits!" _

_A_nd without skipping a beat Aragorn interjected smirking _"Though you are about tall enough to be one, Lady Crystal" _which prompted Crystal to find something in her backpack to throw at Aragorn, the first thing she laid her hands on was a super bouncy ball. And oh yeah she chugged it at him.

Aragorn tried to duck but the object was lighter and faster than he assumed. But he underestimated the power of a flying super bouncy rubber ball which hit his head and bounced to the ground and proceeded to bounce about six feet in the air. An unharmed Aragorn looked at this strange object. Frodo tried to catch the bouncing object which was bouncing higher than a hobbit could reach.

Legolas caught the object immediately with his elven speed, and then inquired what it was as he realized it was a ball. Which he found was made of a rather intriguing material he had not seen. And he examined the bouncy ball as if it was immensely fascinating object. And then inquired without looking away from it, _"And what does one call this….ball?"_

_[Ok something about this guy is…off, he seems to send out a strange vibe, quite inhuman, perhaps his DNA was spliced with a feline. Though on a positive note his accent isn't nearly as muddled as the others and I don't have to spend a moment running it through my brain filter.] Crystal thought. _

"_It is called a super bouncy ball, it is considered a child's toy"_ She said to arrest any fears that she was trying to actually harm anyone, realizing to late that this might not be something they understood was not a threat. And then Boromir, put in his two-cents, _"and are you not too old to be playing with a child's toy?" _

_[Over a million smart ass retorts clamored for attention] as the thoughts assailed Crystal. _Yet she just smirked and said "_nope" _She learned long ago with her brothers, the less you say, the less can be used against you.

Legolas turned noticed something amiss and looks intently towards the South. Boromir turned to continue to instruct Pippin. _"Come on. Good."_ Boromir said and accidentally nicks Pippin's hand. _"Aaaah!"_ Pippin cried out. _"Sorry!"_ Boromir apologized. And Crystal looked worried yet she had to smile when Pippin took revenge and kicked him in the shin. _"Ahh!"_ Boromir responded.

_"Get Him!"_ Merry went to help his friend. Boromir went down in a mock battle. And Boromir and Aragorn laughed with the Hobbits. _"For the Shire! Hold him! Hold him down! Merry!"_ Pippin insisted as Aragorn walked over to them. Aragorn attempted to scold them _"Gentlemen, that's enough."_ And he was losing a battle with a smile. He then laid a hand on either Hobbit's shoulder. Pippin and Merry grabbed his legs, and pulled him down on his back, much to the amusement of Crystal.

To the South Legolas continued watch as a strange dark cloud had appeared on the horizon. Noticing the intensity in which the Elf was looking Sam asked. _"What is that?"_ Crystal turned at his voice and then looked in the distance that he was. Gimli dismissed it saying, _"Nothing, it's just a whiff of cloud." _Crystal glance at him and this guy was rather short with a long beard and hairy. _[If ever dwarves were to exist…] she thought. _That thought was cut off by the fear in his voice Boromir as he said _"It's moving fast… against the wind_." Legolas shouted "_Crebain from Dunland!" _Then the commands followed in rapid succession with ascending panic laced in their voices. Aragorn said _"Hide!"_ As he rushed around, getting the people out of sight.

Boromir called out _"Hurry!" _Aragorn told Frodo "_Frodo! Hurry! Take cover!" _The fellowship plus one scrambled to gather their things, and Sam put out the fire. They hid behind rock outcroppings and under bushes, and waited.

In a burst of darkness against the light of day, a flock of black birds rushed overhead, cawing loudly. The fellowship was well covered, but Crystal ended up sharing a space with Gandalf as she looked out she noticed the sheer number of them and was terrified while being reminded of a horror movie as a child about murderous birds.

The birds circled the hill, then turned and flew back southward. Many moments past and only silence hung between the hidden fellowship members as they remained concealed in fear of the birds return. When enough time had passed and the distance of the birds proved safe from detection they came out of hiding and looked around.

Crystal crawled shakily from her place among the rocks, her heartbeat so loud in her ears. She took a calming breath, but that alone did not seem to alleviate the terror within her, this wasn't how things were supposed to be, who was afraid of birds in this day and age? _[Bet national geographic would of loved that] _she thought trying to lighten her mood.

Gandalf looked to the south were the birds flew off, _"Spies of Saruman! The passage South is being watched."_ Gandalf exclaimed. _"We must take the Pass of Caradhras." _He turned, looked up at a great, snowy mountain.

_[Spies, they are just birds….]_ Crystal thought as she followed his gaze toward this tall imposing mountain and glanced back at him. _"We?"_

To which Gandalf replied, "yes, we." And turned his glance from the mountains and looked at her continuing. _"I fear that is the path we must take " _It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure he meant to cross those mountains, and knowing there was a perfectly good highway to the south didn't improve her view on the subject. She had gotten this far alone, without any help.

And was mentally weighing the options of continuing alone or following them. And it seemed that she had without her knowledge had been inducted in to this merry little band of weird. In fact Crystal didn't remember being asked that much of anything and it was apparently presumed that she was going to follow them.

Aragorn approached and he put his hand on her shoulder and said in a no uncertain terms voice "_there are foul beings that roam these lands, and if you value your safety you would not hesitate to accept our help and protection."_

At this Crystal felt defeated maybe it was the concept of she was lost and they seemed willing enough to help, or maybe she was just too emotionally exhausted to debate the subject so reluctantly she accepted.

"_We should check your wound for infection and redress it before we travel" _he said and then she went to where her backpack was only to find it missing, glancing around she had found it was now on a pony, and headed in that direction and pulled out the first aid kit. Aragorn was most intrigued with it, which she found amusing.

When he hesitated she informed him to tell her what he needed and she would get it out and explain it if necessary. Aragorn focused on his task, it seemed their first obstacle would be removing the old bandage. He seemed to be a quick learner, and worked fast and was gentle enough.

"_The wound fortunately is not deep, it is a mere abrasion, but a nasty one, our biggest fear is for it to become infected" _he said examining it further. This is when she had the pleasure of introducing the concept of an aerosol can to him, and promptly pulled out a can of Dermoplast.

"_This is what you need, it has minor pain relief, and antibacterial that fights infection" _She had his attention then; he mumbled something about elves and then tried to quickly finish the task.

"_You must tell me more of your knowledge of medicines while we journey." _He replied as he was finishing up.

Crystal got up and returned the first aid kit to her backpack. And that seemed to trigger the group to walking eastward towards mount ice. The walking was monotonous and silence once again rang out with only the sound of grass crunching and cloth moving against cloth and the occasional whisper.

Crystal started listing off the names of the party of weird, and was wondering why the blonde had pocketed her bouncy ball.

It was then that Gandalf had beckoned her to the front of the line. _"I must tell you something little one, something that will strike fear in your heart, but I have no other conclusion to draw from." _he said, looking at her closely.

"_Do not worry Gandalf, for I am the strange and unusual" _Crystal said with a smirk. Gandalf chuckled and became serious.

_[I hate it when people are serious; it means that something is going to change drastically.] Crystal thought._

"_I would ask you to, for a moment consider why the fact that your map was useless and the terrain differs from what is, we know nothing of things you speak of that you assumed would be common knowledge. Child, you have somehow have traveled from either the future or another world completely." _he stated.

[_What? That is impossible, that kind of thing happens only in fiction_, _something like this would require a lot of power according to laws of physics, and the only power source close of any significance was the lightning. Since I was not struck directly or indirectly, this is absurd. Where was Einstein when you needed him?] She thought._

She began to mentally argue the possibilities in her head as panic seized her. _[He was wrong. What could he know of time displacement or paradoxes; he was amazed by a frikken lighter.] _

Gandalf motioned for her to fall back further in the group she guessed to mull over this bit of information, which she was the one thing she didn't really want to do at this moment, there was a possibility he was right, and that would mean_. [I just won't think it]_ she told herself.

As Crystal fell back further within the fellowship, she noticed that Sam was busy with the pony and she didn't seem to get the welcome vibe from Aragorn either. She for once didn't want to think, but the scientist within her latched onto this and launched a thousand theories as to why, or how. Somehow the theories helped, she tried to detach emotionally while trying to disprove this theory. But reality was seeping through her denial, facts that would not be constrained.

But to her right she was addressed by one of the hobbits, "_Lady Crystal, are you alright? I am Meriadoc Brandybuck and this is my best friend Peregrin Took of the Shire, though you can call me Merry" _both hobbits wearing big smiles and bouncing their heads up and down like eager children.

"_And call me Pippin" _said Pippin. She noticed how much energy these two had, and knew at once if ever mischief was to be had, these two would be game. She assured the hobbits that she was ok, or maybe herself, but she welcomed the distraction.

Merry and Pippin thought of their newest addition as a child or just not one so they tried to make her feel welcome. Crystal seemed willing enough to really listen to the hobbits and so Pippin started by pointing out members of their companions with names.

"_You know Gandalf of course, he's a wizard"_ her eyebrow shot up at that tidbit, but she decided to let him follow through, and ask questions later after she digested it properly.

"_And Strider you spoke to him, he is a ranger from the world of men" _he continued. He pointed at the guy who she was convinced had cat DNA in him somewhere. "_Is Legolas of Mirkwood, and is an Elf"_, at this she just smirked.

He then pointed at the short hairy guy "_And that Is __Gimli, son of Gloin, and is a dwarf" _and at this she chuckled, he LOOKED like a dwarf! Pippin took this as encouragement._ "And he" _pointed atBoromir _"Is Boromir, son of Denethor from the world of men and hails from Gondor." _

He pointed to Frodo "_Is __Frodo Baggins Merry's cousin and a Hobbit from the Shire and in the back there with Bill the pony is his gardener Samwise Gamgee. And that makes up the nine of us in the fellowship…._

"_PIP!" _Merry admonished as she looked on in confusion but realized Pippin had leaked some of the classified info. Merry had his head bent and was looking at Pippin and her quickly, then seemed to realize no real harm came of it and dismissed it in favor of venturing on to tell her of the hobbits.

And thus started in her introduction of all things concerning hobbits, the two chatted incessantly about cousins, aunts, uncles twice removed. Interrupting the other with gossip and stories of mischief, normally she would be bored but these two inserted amusing stories and their excitement kept her interest. And off of the topic of if she landed in the Wizard of Oz. This continued for awhile and the hobbits started running on steam as the temperature kept dropping as they climbed Mt Frigid.

As the fellowship climbed through the glistening, fresh snow beneath the great blue sky, Crystal's thoughts kept coming back to the old man's words, even with the arctic distraction she could not turn off those thoughts.. So she started to theorize the concept, was it like Stargate and she traveled to another world completely with no wormhole, or like Sliders and stepped through to an alternate dimension in the same world? Or was it like the Outlander book where a girl steps through stones like stone hinge and entered in the past 200 years previous. She didn't remember anything that would warrant such a thing, no bright lights, or angels, or science lab accident. It was just spurious to conclude just such a thing.

Frodo lost his footing and fell, and rolled down the slope towards Aragorn. Aragorn helped him to his feet. Frodo regained his footing and put a hand instinctively to his neck for the Ring.

Crystal heard a rustle behind her, and a whimper, and turned to find one of the hobbits, Frodo, had fallen, and searched his shirt as if he had dropped something. It was missing; he looked back up the slope. The Ring lay in the snow, glistening. Crystal turned and saw Boromir had picked the ring up. Her first thought was _[Frodo is married?]_

Then Boromir stilled and held the ring in a trance like state. _"Boromir."_ Aragorn quietly called. . Boromir said sadly _"It is a strange fate we should suffer so much fear and doubt… over so small a thing. Such a little thing." _And then he reached out a gloved hand to touch it.

And then she heard it, a whispering of many voices interlaced with occulted chanting that lapped upon the consciousness like a wave upon the shore, in a crescendo effect that made the movie The Exorcist look tame. "_Jesus Christ"_ She whispered, and in that moment the voices silenced.

Aragorn said louder. _"Boromir!" _Boromir looked up, emerging from his trance. _"Give the Ring to Frodo!"_ Aragorn demanded. She watched as Boromir walked slowly down the slope in the direction of Frodo. Her breathing ceased when she saw Aragorn's hand hovering at the hilt of his sword.

Then Boromir held out the ring and said in a wobbly attempt for nonchalant _"As you wish…" _Frodo snapped into action, grabbing the ring and placed the chain around his neck.

Boromir a little more convincingly added _"… I care not."_ And to further his attempts he tousled Frodo's hair, he then turned to resume climbing. Frodo looked at his back suspiciously, and she released the breath she was holding as Aragorn released his grip from his sword.


	4. Chapter 4

**[Author's Notes]  
><strong>I been researching the histories of middle earth for this story and will do my best to keep it to the tale**. **

I have had these files sitting on my pc for awhile but in case anyone was still following I'll upload what was already written, at the moment I am inspired by another idea.

**[Warnings and Disclaimers]**  
>See Chapter 1<br>**I do not make any money from this. Reviews are my only payment. ** : )

**[Chapter 4]**

The hobbits were leaning on each other fighting sleep though she noticed Frodo had fallen asleep, and Sam tried to wake him.

Aragorn intervened, _"No Sam let him sleep. It is warm enough for it to be safe, and the rest of you hobbits should do the same_."

She drowsily thought that was a very good idea and he said she was like a hobbit so She scooted, used the collar of the coat to protect her head, and leaned into the corner, sleep took her then. There was a low mumbles as the night past.

The fellowship was impressed with the knowledge the child has. And Gandalf pondered on the child's actual role in the fellowship. In the morning the fellowship took a more active role in making her feel a little more welcome. With this acceptance the hobbits found it harder to contain their curiosity since there seems to be no objections.

She awoke to voices inside the igloo; obviously some sort of decision had been made while she slept.

Pippin had handed her a plate of sausages and a flask, to which she just stared at while blinking her eyes. She shook her head quickly, but unfortunately the haze of sleep did not seem effected. Then she smelt it, coffee….. _"Caffeine"_ She groaned.

She did not want to move, she ached in places she did not know could ache. She needed a soak in a warm bath and substantial amounts of alcohol, and a warm bed. Unfortunately, none of those were available, but there was coffee. She looked at Pippin and said _"Thank you Pippin. There wouldn't by any chance be any coffee left?"_

"_I believe there is some, Lady Crystal" _he said putting the plate and flask beside her and ran to get her a cup. Oh sweet hobbit, she thought. The hobbits were definitely endearing themselves to her. She didn't feel as intimidated talking to them, like talking to children. She sat up and watched his retreating back with a smile and shook her head.

Then she ran her hand through her untamed hair, trying to remove it from in front of her face. She pulled out the elastic band which had become defiant as she slept and tried to revolt, leaving a mass of hair loose. She then replaced it in a single braid down her back leaving the lower and back portion free to block her ears and neck from the elements. Then she parted the top of the braid and pulled the entire braid through.

A trick she learned having waist length hair, it keeps the top of the braid tight, and doesn't unravel as quickly. Also she thought it looked neat.

"_Good morning, Lady Crystal._" Boromir said. She turned to look at him; he actually gave her a small smile and dipped his head in greeting. She returned the sentiment. She obviously gained some brownie points for the igloo idea. He and the hobbits and Gimli were the only ones still in the igloo, the others were outside, for what reason, She does not know.

"_Morning, Lass"_ Gimli greeted her.

"_Morning Gimli"_ She answered with a nod.

Gimli thought the child is much like a hobbit and that it's endearing, and entertaining. And she is quite brilliant for one so young. And even had seemed to surprise the Elf Princeling, it would be nice to rub in his face how a mortal child outsmarted him. Gimli would not let him live it down. She seemed to be coming out of her shell with the help of the hobbits.

Though her spirit was uplifting on this dark journey her presence posed a risk even more so then the hobbits, for she had no knowledge of the dangers she faced.

And he hoped that she makes it unharmed to a place of safety, his cousin would take her in, if he could convince the fools to go to Moria. It is closer and less likely she would come to harm.

Pippin had returned with her coffee with Merry, and sat beside her. It was bitter, but she downed it greedily. They looked at her patiently while she ate. Which is unnerving to say the least, and she never liked eating in front of someone. She sees it as rude.

Luckily Merry broke the silence, apparently their patience had ended. It took a whole three minutes. _"I never knew snow could keep you warm"_ Merry said as he looked at her expectedly.

Obviously this wasn't a statement, but a question. She chuckled shaking her head, then bit her lower lip in concentration, _"well"_ she started _"we used the snow as a barrier, trapping what was inside in, and blocking the cold wind out." _She said.

Confused looks stared back at her, she so she tried an analogy. _"When you and Pippin share a blanket you get warmer faster because people give off body heat"_ to this She got nods of understanding.

"_Now think of the igloo as a big blanket."_ She continued. And once their eyes lit up in understanding, they glanced at each other to see if the other came to the same conclusion.

Then they looked at her, and she felt as the ice had finally broken with them, metaphorically. What she wasn't expecting was what happened next.

"_Where do you hail from?"_ said Merry.

"_Does it snow a lot?"_ Sam threw in.

"_Do you have family?"_ Frodo asked.

"_Tell us about your world, Lady Crystal"_ Pippin encouraged.

The rapid succession of questions left her head spinning. Hobbits, she just learned were inquisitive creatures and their patience on the matter just ended_._

"_First you do not need to address me as lady, I am not accustomed to it, and since we are becoming friends, a title is unnecessary." _The hobbits seemed to understand this and nodded their heads in agreement.

She nodded to Merry, _"I was living in a place called San Marcos, and it is in Texas."_

"_So San Marcos is a city"_ Frodo stated.

"_Is Texas a big county?"_ Pippin questioned.

"_Are there a lot of people there?"_ Sam asked.

"_What is your king like?" _asked Merry.

At this she just laughed; she leaned forward, covering her face with one hand as she shook her head. She was beginning to wonder if she would survive the hobbit inquisition with her sanity intact.

Frodo then came to her rescue with _"Perhaps we should limit our questions till she has answered the first ones." _

I looked up and smiled at Frodo gratefully, to which he nodded.

At this point Gandalf and Strider entered and seemed as if they were just merely politely waiting for her to answer, so they could say something.

I began "_Yes, San Marcos is a City; Texas is not a Country, but a state in the United States of America. There are 50 states that make up my county. Texas is a big state, it is roughly 260,000 square miles."_

At this she heard a choking sound as Boromir looked at her and sheer amazement. She smirked feeling devious; if that amazed him perhaps his reaction to some random facts should be interesting.

"_San Marcos last I checked had roughly 50,000 people, Texas was reaching the three million mark. And we have no king; we are a diplomatic society with a government of three equally powered braches that we the people vote into power." _Boromir actually visibly paled at that.

Boromir was shocked at what the child told him, with that many men they could take the fight to Mordor's black gate and squash their foe. She continued on saying there was no king but their people choose their leader.

Crystal was encouraged, yet Boromir then found his voice enough to interrupt, _"Your men vote who leads them?"_

Her eyebrow shot up at this, _"Men?" she _replied. Then she recalled she was in the equivalent of the dark ages and they haven't had the women's rights movement.

Crystal let out a long sigh, looked at Boromir pointedly in the eye while she told him, _"My country believes heavily in equal rights Boromir, anyone who is a legal citizen male or female, age eighteen and older, who has not had any serious trouble with the law, has the right to vote."_

And she just thought he paled earlier…..

"_They allow your __women__ to vote?" _He asked the thought alone was scandalous. They actually let women vote on matters of state! Women should not be troubled with war or politics.

Crystal should have been angered, or offended, but his reaction actually fuelled a feeling of superiority in her. _"Yes and my people have scientifically proven that women actually have brains and can equal the intelligence of a man. And in fact can even surpass them, for example, I was tested in school. And my test in knowledge scored higher than anyone in my district, above both males and females of my age group." Crystal stated triumphantly. "Not to mention none have ever equaled me in trivial pursuit." she _added with a smirk.

"_The elves hold similar beliefs in equality" _Aragorn offered in her defense.

"_I see"_ Boromir answered dejectedly.

Boromir thinks Crystal was intriguing and resourceful yet odd and childish. She was smart, yet untamed. Her behavior would not long be acceptable among his people. And she is in dire need of proper guidance and instruction.

Though with time she might gain these, her independent nature and her view of her role might prove disastrous if not. He hoped one day she does learn to curb this behavior and grow into a proper woman. For a child she is beautiful and might do well for herself if she does. Yet her antics can be amusing at times, there is no place on this journey for a female, and one so young.

"_Well the Lass has my vote."_ boomed Gimli. _"The igloo was quite an ingenious idea."_

"_Indeed" _Gandalf replied then added _"I think it is time to make perorations to break camp."_

"_Have we decided where we are going?"_ she asked to no one in particular.

Pippin answered, _"Gandalf left it up to Frodo." _

"_Why him?" _Shehad to ask; Frodo seemed troubled enough without having to make decisions for the whole group.

Pippin glanced over at Frodo, with a sad look in his eyes and answered, "_He is the ring bearer,_ _and it is his burden." _

At this there was a harsh reply from Boromir "_Hold your tongue Pippin! Or soon all of Middle Earth will come to know of what we are doing!"_

At this Gandalf responded in a resigned voice_, "She has seen the ring, and heard its call, I fear that much will not remain hidden from her on this journey." _

At this, he turned and addressed her,_ "Though it would be wise the less you knew of our path and to its end." _

"_I understand"_ she replied with a shrug.

Gandalf raised his eyebrow at her questioningly. Obviously he didn't think she would accept this easily.

Crystal had seen the ring, and she wish she hadn't, it was beyond scary. She really didn't want anything to do with that thing. And she read enough spy novels. She knew the concept the more you knew the more you get involved. And the more danger you get yourself into.

"_Plausible deniability" _shestated_. _Gandalf actually looked impressed.

Gandalf felt the newest member has yet to even begun to scratch the surface of her mysteries. He sensed no ill about her. At first he feared much, but he is suspecting more is at work than even he knows. For he has noticed the most unprecedented thing, there are times when he could feel the very essence of Eru within her. She seemed to have an aura unto the Elves but not quite as if she is a being that skirts on the concepts of elves.

She had past into their realm, covered great distances with little harm. As if by Eru's own hand guided her. He wondered just what her role was, and just when he would discover it. Her intelligence is almost frightening for a mortal so young. Though she exerts the youthful mischief that is trademark, she also showed a great patience and wisdom. Her resourcefulness very well might have saved the fellowship. And he wondered why fate had led her to him.

"_What is plausible deniability?" _asked Merry.

To which she replied, _"It is when you can honestly deny knowledge of something because you are in fact unaware of it" _and was answered with simultaneous _"Ohs" _from Merry and Pippin.

Gandalf had turned to Frodo, _"have you decided?"_ he inquired.

Frodo let out a long suffering sigh and answered, _"We will go through the mines."_

Gandalf closed his eyes as if that alone could stop the decision and reluctantly said _"So be it." _

Aragorn then stated_, "We have tarried long enough here, and lost time!" _

Without skipping a beat_, _shelooked at Aragorn and smirked and replied _"Sometimes to gain ground, you need to slow down." _

Aragorn laughed. Their newest member was quite the paradox of sorts, she was at times quiet, and then she forged on with an idea or some mischief. She would seem quite childish on minute, and then state something of great wisdom. And would do or say something quite naive and then at other times utter amazed him with her brilliance. Though he wondered what would happen if she met up with his twin brothers.

She made him wonder if he had a younger human sibling she would probably be like that. He was impressed at her ingenuity in the manner the igloo, bravery while standing up for her beliefs to Boromir. And she did not hesitate to try to return his antics against her back on him. Though this quest is not a journey she should partake on, it is far too dangerous. And the sooner she was in Lórien, the better he would feel.

Gandalf actually audibly chuckled and said_ "The young one is correct. Though it is time we left." _

And thus seemed to be the signal to leave the cocoon of warmth and get moving, something she was honestly reluctant to do. She made her way out of the igloo and down the path, getting the idea that Moria was in fact back the way we came as that was the direction everyone was walking.

"_Lady Crystal"_ she had walked on a bit when she was addressed, and from none other than the Elf, and since he wasn't one to speak often, she was intrigued.

"_You're….ball"_ he said hesitantly, as he had slowed his steps to walk with her.

He was staring at the ball in fascination, as if it held some great secret that he could unravel if he looked deeply enough. _"It is made of the most curious material" he _looked from the ball to her thenhanded it to her.

"_It's called rubber, made from the sap of Para rubber tree which grows in a climate with heavy rainfall and without frost" she _shrugged as she told him.

Legolas had noticed the child was apprehensive, and unless she was trying to prove a point or jest she was quite withdrawn so he risked a moment to see if she would shy away, but not too long. Her eyes reminded him of the color of trees withholding both the leaves of green and the brown of bark which reminded him of his home in the barren ice land.

He notices in his astonishment that her eyes were actually greener and just the very edges were brown. He had never seen anyone whose eyes could actually appear to change such drastic colors. He wondered if she could do this at will or had no control over it.

Legolas found the child amusing and intriguing, her intelligence rivals no other mortal he had met, and made him wonder if in time she could surpass the elves themselves. Her innocence and child like nature reminded him of the many he knew when they were elflings. He stood there for just a moment looking at her as if contemplating this and headed off.

Crystal was left with the odd sensation that she felt when on stage in front of a large crowd. No one ever told her, but an elf looking at you intently seems to bring on a serious dose of stage fright. It is both intimidating and unnerving. She actually visibly shuttered.

Looking for a distraction she saw Frodo walking a little distance to the side from the group lost in thought. As she went over to Bill and put the ball back in her backpack, she found the yo-yo, and was struck with an idea.


	5. Chapter 5

**[Author's Notes]  
><strong>This is a chapter I had worked on while writing this story, I am currently working on a novel and thought I would upload the chapters I wrote previous for the sake to get feedback on my ability to write fantasy fiction. Tolkien is an inspiration to the genre I am writing, though right now I have my head filled with the characters in my present storyline so I am just uploading what was previously written.

**[Warnings]**  
>This is a story about a girl entering the realm of middle earth from our modern earth.<br>This is my AU, and being fiction I reserve the right to bend fact to work in my fiction.  
>There will be some use of language.<br>I own nothing save my characters and my random insanity.  
>Tolkien owns the inspiration behind a lot of this story.<br>**[/Warnings]**

**[/Author's Notes]**

**[Chapter 5]**

In the wintery terrain which was met with bitter gust of wind Crystal approached Frodo, mustered the most serious expression she could, which she found difficult, and said "_Here Frodo, I think you need this more than me"_ as she held out the toy to him and was losing her battle to a smile.

He just looked at her, and did not take it. She recognized the look of confusion on his face and proceeded to give explanation about the device to the hobbit.

So she showed him how it worked as she said _"Sometimes, when I am working on a difficult problem, I use the yo-yo, I focus on the movement and it helps me clear my head." _

At this he brightened and actually mustered a smile, _"Thank you, Crystal. Perhaps it will work for me also."_ He answered as he took the yo-yo. And she left him alone with the Yo-Yo.

_[The hobbit was a bright one, it took him a couple of tries but he got it.] Crystal thought._

Frodo was intrigued by Crystal; she seemed to have a vast amount of knowledge for one so young. Though she was shy like Sam, unless there is mischief involved, that seemed to make her a bit braver. There was something about her that feels different almost elf like. She was a child with great innocence and laughter about her; he hoped the Ring does not affect that.

He also hoped that she finds safety before they journey to Mordor, or face any real danger. Though she has proven not to be a burden and even has saved them with her fast thinking and unfathomable comprehension of subjects unknown. There are times when cleverness alone will not save you. And he does not want to see her have to face that.

Sam watched with a smile. He sees some of himself in Crystal at times, like when he met her, she spoke softly and seemed unnerved yet wanted to help him. He likes that even though she has great intelligence she does not make him feel foolish, or a trouble for asking. She spoke to him with respect and patience. And seemed to understand him in a way few do.

He felt she was a good person at heart, yet mischievous like Merry and Pippin. Her reactions can be quite comical. He felt that deep down that she is honorable and brave, and might even yet surprise people. And hoped she doesn't lose that on the dark journey ahead. Though she is quite young she has seemed to impress the big folk.

Crystal glanced up, according to the sun they were now headed south, or at least she thought. Did the sun follow the same orbit? She walked on ahead as she pondered this new fact.

Merry noticed Crystal was lost in her thoughts and he thought it was best to distract her, as he knew it was difficult to be far from home. He liked Crystal; she seemed to have a heart for mischief and was very smart. She had a wealth of information, and probably a lot of interesting stories to tell. She seemed to have enjoyed his stories and not tire as big folk tended to do. She smiled and really listened to what he said; most big folk he had met were too busy or serious and felt she is more in tune with hobbits than big people.

He knows she will need his protection like Pip, though she was too bright to get into the same kinds of trouble. But against the black riders, Orcs, or other nasty stuff she would be in real danger. He hoped to show her the shire someday; she might want to live there instead of with the big folk if she couldn't go home. And maybe she could find a clever way to talking Farmer Maggot out of being so mad.

Merry tugged on pippins arm and nodded in her direction. Pippin looked in her direction. She looked kind of sad. So He and Merry start heading over to her to cheer her up. Pippin loved the fact that he was no longer the youngest on this quest.

He found Crystal highly amusing and always willing to smile or explain something. When she was explaining something it was more like she was conspiring to some great secret rather than trying to teach him something. He was sure she would be loads of fun and could think up countless jokes to pull. She seemed to prove to the big people just because you're young and small doesn't mean you do not know anything or cannot helpful on the quest.

Crystal was broke from her thoughts by Merry and Pippin. _"Tell us more about your world."_ Merry stated as he and Pippin caught up and started walking with her.

Sam and Frodo overheard and followed closely.

As they walked she had begun telling them of her world.

She began with telling them about her family, that she had three older brothers. Her oldest brother Frank and his obsession with all things star trek and sci-fi. That led them to ask her about star trek and explained how shows were like plays.

And when she started explaining to them about his favorite character was a Vulcan named Spock and that pointed ears was something she saw all the time because he and his friends seemed to always wear fake ones.

They found that as odd and hilarious as she did….

And then there is Daniel and his obsession of how things worked and why, who took apart his bed at the age of three to find the squeak. But grew up learning from this and now was able to put things back together. And that they call him as MacGyver because he can fix just about anything., and then explained who MacGyver was.

She also told them of the time he got struck by lightning; well not really he got a partial blast. But she assured them that it was a not a direct hit, and he is fine today. And she admitted that lightning still scared her to this day because she was not eight feet away when it happened, and she was a small child about five.

Then there was Owen the medieval martial arts fiend, he likes to collect display swords, and even dragged her to a few of his classes, luckily she managed to skimp out on most of it. She prefers yoga and she went to a gymnastics camp when she was younger, those didn't require hitting other people, though she could defend herself against over enthusiastic boys.

Once he made nun chucks and he was practicing and well the chain broke and the stick hit her in the head. Though he was her favorite brother, he was her rock when times got tough, and they were always there for each other.

Then she told them about her mother who died in child birth with her little sister. And how her father remarried to an evil monster, yet she no longer lives. And about her dad, that even though he lost a big part himself when mom died he still at times could be quite funny and had great wisdom, well apart from the step monster. And yes she actually did have two step sisters. And her grandmother played the piano by ear and how when she went to see her how she made her feel special and loved.

And then she told them how children were required to attend school at the age of five till sixteen.

Merry shrieked in astonishment."Y_our dad sent you away at five to go to this school?"_

She felt all eyes on her at point; she was anxious so she focused on Merry and explained. _"It's not like that or at least mine wasn't, I attended school five days a week from seven until about two."_Then she had to tell them about what a school was. Then how one who does really well can skip grades and graduate early which she did. _"I graduated high school at fifteen; most people are about seventeen or eighteen."_

"_So you don't have to go anymore?" _asked Merry

"_I don't have to, but I am so I can learn more. I am going to college." _said Crystal

"_But why?"_ asked Pippin

"_I like to learn, I like knowing how things work and why they do."_ She explained. _"I am studying Computer Science, something that here won't mean anything but the foundations of it will work."_

"_How so?"_ asked Frodo who was becoming more curious on the subject.

"_Well it's a study of problem solving, and I try to analyze a problem going through a series of processes.__"_ Crystal said.

"_Plus I learn to build neat stuff."_ She laughed.

"_Did you learn lots at the College?" Merry asked._

Crystal shook her head and smiled. _"Merry"_ she begun, _"I am only sixteen; I have been only going half a year."_

"_But this semester I am….well I was going to take a hardware class and humanities class and math and I picked up General Psychology because I was interested." _she continued. "_I get to take four classes a semester." _

"_And you get time off, for holidays. You get three months off in the summer, and a week for spring break, and about three weeks for Christmas."_

"_What's Christmas?"_ Asked Pippin

"_You don't have Christmas?" _She asked astonished. She should have known, but that was one denial she wanted to keep she loved Christmas. All the hobbits shook their heads no.

"_You poor, poor hobbits!"_ she exclaimed.

"_Modern Christmas is the basic blending of two different cultures and religions. Christianity and Pagan worship. Christians believe there is one God, a being who has created all things." she said._

"_So your God is like Eru." Frodo interrupted._

To which she raised an eyebrow.

"_And Pagans believe in many gods." she continued._

"_Christians believe God's son was born that day, in a manger. And wise men came and brought gifts. To symbolize this people put out manger with figure representations. " she stated._

"_So which are you?"_ Sam asked.

"_I am a Christian"_ she responded.

"_In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast."_

"_And from the Pagans we get the tree. The tree became a big part of the holiday, usually pine, it is chopped down and brought in our homes and we decorate it with lights that are on strings and are multicolored. Also there are colored balls, and angels, and other random items that are shiny. And we put wrapped presents for each other under It." she told them. _

_The hobbits were in awe._

"_And then there is Santa. His story varies a lot culture to culture but basically the same idea. Santa is a mythological older, plump, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots. He has magical powers. And once a year on December 25__th__ he flies around the world giving presents to the good children." she elaborated._

"_I wish we had Santa here."_ Said Pippin

"_Me too Pippin, me too"_ she replied.

"_I recognize Santa more as a symbol, the spirit of giving."_ she nodded.

Crystal scrunched up her face as she came to a conclusion_. "So technically I believe in Santa."_

"_And it is said Santa is the head Elf at the North Pole and runs a toy work shop of elves, though, I would say they look more hobbits." _she told them with a smirk.

She heard Gimli snort. Oh yeah she saw this coming.

"_Hear that Princeling? An OLD, FAT, ELF!" _Bellowed Gimli amused.

Crystal tried not to laugh, really she did. The hobbit had their fist stuck in their mouths biting them, to prevent laughing out loud. She heard Aragorn cough but she could hear the amusement in his voice, and she saw Gandalf shaking his head.

She glanced at Legolas fearfully, but he gave her a conspiring smile and a nod. So she figured he took no harm from it.

The Fellowship passed south, along the misty shadow of an aqueduct's ruins.

Gandalf called out _"Frodo, come and help an old man." _And Frodo made his way over to Gandalf. Gandalf was worried for his little friend so he inquired of his injured shoulder and of the ring.

Gandalf warned Frodo _"You feel its power growing, don't you? I've felt it too. You must be careful now. Evil will be drawn to you from outside the Fellowship."_

_Gandalf glanced at Boromir "And, I fear, from within." _

_"Who then do I trust?"_ Frodo asked.

To this Gandalf replies _"You must trust yourself. Trust your own strengths."_

_"What do you mean?"_ Frodo asked, hoping to gain some bit of knowledge in what must be done.

"_There are many powers in this world, for Good or for Evil. Some are greater than I am. And against some I have not yet been tested." _Gandalf replied cryptically.

The booming voice of Gimli exclaimed _"The Walls… of Moria!" _

The fellowship stood and looked upon a vast cliff face. "_Dwarf doors are invisible when closed."_ Gimli continued as he knocked his axe against a rock. They moved along the wall, searching for a door.

At this Gandalf said "_Yes, Gimli, their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten." _

To whichLegolas amusedly replied: _"Why doesn't that surprise me?" _

At this she actually choked, and proceeded to cough to cover her laughter. This drew the concerned attention of Merry and Pippin who upon looking at her face shared a smile.

She then leaned over and whispered to them, "_In the words of my people, ooh burrrn!"_

She turned at the sound ofmusical laughter and to her amazement she made eye contact with Legolas. He smiled and then returned to looking at the wall.

_[….what the…? And …..No way. ] she thought._

She was still pondering how he could have heard her whispers at the distance he stood, as she watched Gandalf approached the rock between two trees, and ran his hand over the cliff face. Gandalf runs his hand over the cliff face. Beneath his hand were spidery silver lines, faint beneath the dirt.

Aragorn unhitched the pony's bridle _"The Mines are no place for a pony, even one as brave as Bill."_

_"Buh-bye Bill."_ Said Sam, he worried over the pony, he had become a friend to him on this journey and he didn't want anything to happen to him.

_"Go on, Bill, go on. Don't worry Sam, he knows the way home."_ Aragorn said and reassured Sam.

Gandalf spoke as if thinking out loud _"Now… let's see. Ithildin _… It mirrors only starlight… and moonlight."

Crystal looked on with curiosity. Wondering if it was some kind of chemical they placed on the doors. Everything had a scientifically explanation, well in the physical realm. Though lately she had a lot more questions than answers and she hoped she could solve something of this soon.

As he looked up at the black night sky, the moon appears. The silver lines grew bright, outlined a door formed of two columns beneath an arch, with a star in the center.

_[That's a prime example of the not supposed to happen.] Crystal thought wearily._

Gandalf says more to himself than anyone "_It reads 'The Doors of Durin — Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.'"_

Merry chirped in "_What do you suppose that means?"_

And she of course the genetically ingrained wisecrack exclaimed _"Friend!" _she shrugged her shoulders as Aragorn handed her bags.

Gandalf shook his head. Frodo smiled at Crystal.

Frodo screwed his brow in concentration perhaps…. but then wondered could she be right? Frodo's eyes lit up and said "_She's right Gandalf, It's a riddle."_ _"Speak 'friend' and enter. What's the Elvish word for friend?"_

Crystal turned and looked at Frodo, raised an eyebrow and asked. _"I am?"_

To which Gandalf replied _"Mellon…" _as he spoke the last syllable there was a great rumbling and vibrations could be felt at our feet as the stone doors slowly swing open.

"_And they say being a wisecrack never pays off….stupid they"_ Crystal mumbled


End file.
